How To Soak Groundnuts Before Frying

Fried or roasted groundnuts are a quick snack you can enjoy anywhere and anytime. In addition to being crunchy and tasty, it is a healthy snack you can eat between meals or even while you work.

So you want to know how to soak these groundnuts properly before frying? You’re in the right place. This article will show you how. Just ride with me.

Preparation

1. Bring 4 to 5 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan.
2. The water balls are now picking up stones and other debris from the groundnut. Put the good groundnuts in a separate bowl.
3. Pour the hot water into a bowl and add some salt. Now stir the water till the salt dissolves, then add in your groundnuts.
4. Allow the groundnut to sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Now sieve out the water.
6. Spread the groundnuts on a tray to dry. Ensure that the tray is not overcrowded to allow a free flow of air.
7. You should leave it under the sun for 1-2 hours.

How to fry the groundnuts

1. When the ground nuts have dried properly, place a saucepan on the stovetop.
2. Get 3 cups of fine sand and pour it into the saucepan.
3. Allow the saucepan to heat up until all the moisture leaves the sand.
4. Pour in the groundnuts.
5. Now stir the groundnut-sand mixture continuously for 15 minutes.
6. When it is properly cooked, pour this mixture into a basket. You will know it is cooked when the skin begins to flake off easily.
7. Shake the basket around. Naturally, the groundnuts should separate from the sand.
8. Use a spoon to remove them and sort them into another bowl.
9. When the groundnuts have cooled down, you can use your hands to peel off the skins. Blow on it to separate the chaff from the grain.
10. Your groundnuts are ready to be munched on.

Is fried groundnut healthy?

Groundnuts or peanuts have a good health rating. They are rich in fiber and have a great array of vitamins and minerals.

A 100 g of roasted groundnuts yields the following:

kilocalories: 585

Carbs: 22 g

Fiber: 8 g

Protein: 24 g

Magnesium: 44% of recommended daily intake

Below are some health benefits of groundnuts:

Promotes cardiovascular health.

Groundnuts are higher in unsaturated fats than saturated fats, which promote cardiovascular health. This makes them a healthier option for your heart. Unsaturated fats are better for your overall heart and circulatory system, as they help to reduce low-density lipids or cholesterol (LDL) in your body.

Research done in 2014 discovered that consuming 46 grams of peanuts on a daily basis can improve the heart health of diabetic people.

Helps to regulate weight gain.

Groundnuts are high in fiber and produce healthy fats. Due to this, consuming them as a snack in moderation can help you maintain a healthy weight.

Another study done on women discovered that those who consumed groundnuts twice a week had a lower risk of developing obesity than those who did not.

Managing blood sugar

Groundnut is good news for those who are suffering from diabetes or have a risk of developing diabetes. This is due to the fact that groundnuts have a low glycemic index (GI) score of 23. Scientists rank foods with a GI score of 55 or lower as low-GI foods, while those that have a score of 70 or higher are considered high-GI foods.

Groundnuts can control blood sugar due to their fibrous and proteinous nature. The presence of fiber delays digestion, preventing a large spike in sugar release into the bloodstream. On the other hand, proteins take longer to digest than simple carbohydrates.

Peanuts help control blood sugar levels because they are relatively low in carbohydrates but high in protein, fat, and fiber. Fiber slows down the digestive processes, allowing a steadier release of energy, and protein takes longer to break down than simple carbohydrates.

What are other ways of roasting groundnuts?

There are some alternatives that one could use to roast groundnuts. I will list two.

Cooking groundnuts in the microwave oven

Roasting groundnuts in a microwave oven is a simple process. It is a simple procedure that will not consume much of your time. 7 minutes tops.

1. Set out your groundnuts on a microwave-safe tray.
2. Ensure that they are spread out well enough.
3. Turn on your microwave oven and set it to 800 watts. Set your timer for 1 minute and allow it to cook.
4. After this interval, stir again, and then cook for another 20 seconds.
5. Allow the groundnuts to cook over 4-6 30-second intervals, during which time you will be stirring them to ensure that they are cooked through properly.
6. Once it has reached the perfect degree of roasting, you can remove it from the microwave oven.
7. When it cools down, you can manually peel off the skin. Enjoy your snack.

Cooking groundnuts in the oven

This second step involves using a conventional oven. This process might take a little longer (30 to 60 minutes), but the results are still fabulous. You can roast groundnuts that are in the shell or peeled.

All you need is a baking dish or sheet.

Procedure

1. Preheat your oven to 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Place your baking sheet or bowl containing the groundnuts in the oven.
3. Allow it to heat up for 15 minutes.
4. Increase the temperature to 200° Fahrenheit, and then be alert for the sounds coming from the oven. When it begins to crackle, you can turn off the oven.
5. Let it stay for another 15 minutes so the groundnuts can cool gradually.
6. Bring out your groundnuts, peel them, and enjoy!

How do you remove salt from groundnuts?

If your groundnuts have become overly salted, a simple solution could be to quickly wash them under running water and then dry them.

However, this will only work for fried groundnuts.

For boiled groundnut, do the following:

Add the groundnuts to a saucepan of boiling water. Then cut the small potato in half and allow it to simmer for about 30 minutes. The potato will absorb the salt from the surface of the groundnuts. You can then discard the potatoes.

How do you get oil out of groundnuts?

1. The first thing to do is to get your groundnuts clean by picking out the dirt. The next step is to either roast it in a pan over a stovetop or place it in an oven to ensure even roasting. The latter will give your groundnut oil a unique straw color.
2. When it cools, peel off the skins from the groundnuts and then use a food processor or blender to blend it into a thick, smooth paste.
3. Transfer the paste into a clean bowl. Now you need some water to add to this paste while stirring it.
4. Now start adding the water as you stir the paste. Note that you add it gradually, so you don’t add much more than is needed to extract the oil. You can start with just a tablespoon of water. If the batch of peanut butter you are working with is large, you could start with a larger quantity. The main focus is to make sure you don’t add too much water. This will prevent the extraction of the oil.
5. As you begin to stir, don’t be surprised if the peanut butter is a bit thick. Just keep stirring till the paste turns from light brown to dark. Once this happens, the oil will start to rise to the top.
6. Now, once you observe the oil coming out, use your fists to smash the base even more. More oil will be released. When a sufficient amount of oil has been released, use a ladder to scoop it up into another bowl. Then continue the same process till all the oil comes out.
7. A hack to prevent your hands from sticking to the peanut butter is to dip your hands in water before mashing up the paste.

How do you keep groundnuts from going stale?

For groundnuts that are still in the shell, you can store them in a ventilated bag at room temperature. However, if you want to store them in the fridge or freezer, place them in a freezer bag before placing them in the freezing compartment.

On the other hand, groundnuts that have been removed from the shell need to be placed in an airtight container or bag, regardless of where you want to store them. You could store them in your closet, pantry, or fridge.

Why are my fried groundnuts soft?

Using pre-processed groundnuts: To get perfect groundnuts, using raw groundnuts is your best bet. Pre-processed groundnuts could have been boiled or roasted before packaging. As a result, any additional cooking will likely make it soft and chewy rather than crunchy.

Using Stale Groundnuts: One thing to watch out for is that your groundnuts are still fresh and in good condition. If your groundnuts get stale or spoil, they end up remaining soft even after cooking them. So always check your ground nuts properly for signs of spoilage such as shrinking kernels or mold growth.

Impatience: Who isn’t hungry for some hot roasted nuts? However, you might have to wait a bit before you really enjoy their crunchiness. It is common for your roasted nuts to be soft immediately after cooking. They tend to be soft and chewy when they are still hot. So to properly get that crunchy feeling, give it some time to cool down before you start eating them.

Frying wet groundnuts: It is essential that your groundnuts dry properly before frying or roasting them. If there is still some moisture in the groundnut before frying, there is a tendency that the groundnut’s texture will be soft. So ensure to remove any moisture and pat it dry with a towel before applying any form of heat.